Scientists reverse memory loss associated with ageing in mice
Scientists from Cambridge and Leeds reversed age-related cognitive decline in mice. They say that their discovery could be used to develop treatments to help prevent memory loss as people age.
The team published a study today in Molecular Psychiatry that shows that changes to the extracellular matrix (the’scaffolding around nerve cells’) of the brain lead to memory loss with aging. However, genetic treatments can reverse this.
Recent research has revealed the importance of perineuronal networks (PNNs), which surround inhibitory neurons in the brain, to neuroplasticity – the ability of the mind to adapt and learn – as well as to form memories. The PNNs in the brain are cartilage-like structures which surround inhibitory neuronal cells. They have the main purpose of controlling the plasticity level in the brain. These proteins appear in humans at about five years of age and shut off the period during which brain connections are optimized. Plasticity is then partially turned off. This makes the brain less plastic but more efficient.
Source:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-scientists-reverse-age-related-memory-loss.html
